Emergency wash facility



Sept. 12, 1961 H. H. LOGAN EI'AL EMERGENCY WASH FACILITY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 28, 1959 INVENTORJ' Hue/l ZOGAN CZ4ME5 A NELSON EZMEE/ TD/Xo/V Joe ,4 741/65 Jam 4; J

P 1961 H.'H. LOGAN ET AL 2,999,248

EMERGENCY WASH FACILITY Filed Dec. 28, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I VENTORS Hus/y 4064M United States Patent Olhce Patented Sept. 12, 1961 EMERGENCY WASH FACILITY Hugh H. Logan, Pasadena, James F. Nelson, Woodland Hills, Elmer F. Dixon, La Qrescenta, and Joe A. Taube, Burbank, Calif., assignors to Logan Emergency Showers, Inc, Glendale, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Dec. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 862,170

2 Claims. (Cl. 4166) Tlr's invention deals generally with body wash facilities and particularly with emergency body wash facilities of the type to be employed in industrial establishments and the like for washing caustic substances, radioactive matter, bacteriological matter, dust and other contaminating materials from a person accidentally exposed to and contaminated with such materials.

A primary object of the invention is to provide an emergency wash facility or fountain which is designed to simultaneously wash several different surface areas of the body with liquid sprays that strike the areas generally tangentially so as to exert no appreciable pressure on such areas whereby contaminating material is washed away rather than driven deeper into the skin.

Another important object of the invention is to provide an emergency wash fountain for washing contaminating material from the entire head of the user.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wash fountain in which liquid sprays issue from a plurality of vertically spaced spray heads and in which the uppermost spray heads are shielded against contamination by fallout in the atmosphere by overhanging lip portions of the wash bowl walls and the lower spray heads are shielded against such fallout as well as from contamination by liquid dripping from above by inclined baffles between adjacent, vertically spaced spray heads.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a wash fountain of the character described in which flow control means are provided to proportion flow of the washing liquid to the upper and lower spray heads.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become evident from the following detailed description thereof taken in connection with the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially broken away, of the present head wash fountain;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the head wash fountain with parts broken away; and

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the wash broken away.

The emergency wash fountain illustrated comprises a main supporting structure in the form of a receptacle or bowl having relatively thick, hollow side walls 12 and i4 and a rear wall 16. These walls define a wash space 18 open at the top and front of the bowl and proportioned to receive the head of the user. At their upper extremities, the bowl walls are laterally enlarged to form lips 20 which project inwardly beyond the inner surfaces 22 of the walls proper and define a rectangular top opening on the bowl.

Mounted on the inside of each bowl side wall 12 and 14 are a pair of horizontal, vertically spaced liquid spray heads or bars 24 and 26. Another pair of spray heads 24" and 26' are mounted on the rear wall 16 of the bowl. These spray heads are supplied with a washing liquid under pressure through supply piping 28. This piping is located within the hollow bowl walls and includes an inlet pipe 29 having a balancing cock 29. Extending from this inlet pipe is a branch pipe 30 through which liquid is supplied to the three upper spray heads and a branch pipe 32 through which liquid is supplied to the three lower spray heads. The branch pipes have adjustable flow regfountain with parts r 2 ulators 34 to permit proportioning of the flow to the upper and lower spray heads.

A control valve 36 is provided in the inlet pipe 29' to turn the spray heads off and on. This control valve preferably has a large and easily accessible operating handle, such as the vane 38 illustrated, to enable an accident victim, who may be temporarily blinded, for example, to easily find and quickly operate the handle.

The spray heads are attached to the adjacent branch pipes which extend through and beyond the inner bowl walls to support the spray heads in spaced relationship to the walls, as shown. Since liquid enters the spray heads at their centers, it is desirable to arrange a baflle 42, of the type shown in U.S. Patent No. 2,775,774, for example, within each head for the purpose of obtaining approximately uniform pressure along the entire length of each spray head.

Each spray head has a series of liquid discharge openings 44 arranged in two parallel offset rows along the entire length of the heads so as to provide a spray pattern of given width. Preferably, each spray head also has a lower drain opening 46.

The bottom of the bowl has a drain 4%. In order to avoid the possibility of back siphoning of water into the supply piping 28 should liquid accumulate in the bottom of the bowl due to stoppage of the drain, the upper edge of the low front wall 59 of the bowl is located about one inch below the level of the lower spray heads. Liquid accumulating in the bottom of the bowl will, therefore, overflow this edge before reaching the level of the lower spray heads.

The positioning ofthe two lower side spray heads 26, the arrangement of their openings 44, and the pressure of the liquid supplied to the heads are essentially the same as described in connection with the spray heads disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2,775,774 and such that the liquid streams discharging from the spray heads follow parabolic paths having their highest points somewhat above the level of the lower spray heads and the high points of some of these spray paths coincide approximately with the location of the users eyes when his head is properly positioned in the washing space 13. As discussed in the patent, this feature minimizes the possibility ofthe'washing sprays forcing contaminants deeper into the eyes or face of the user since the spray streams hit the eyes and face of the user generally tangentially, as may be obselyed in FIG. 2.

The positioning of the rear lower spray head 26' and the arrangement of its openings 44 are such that the liquid streams discharging from this head follow parabolic paths which reach their highest points at locations in the bowl occupied by the users forehead, as may be best observed in FIG. 3. Here, again, therefore, the spray from the rear lower spray head strikes the forehead of the user generally tangentially so that contaminants are washed away rather than driven deeper into the users skin.

In this last-mentioned figure of the drawings, it can also be seen that the location of the upper rear spray head 24 the arrangement of its openings 44, and the pressure of the liquid delivered to the upper heads are such that the liquid streams from the lower row of openings in the head are directed downwardly and generally tangentially against the top of the users head so as to wash contaminants from his hair. Again, the generally tangential contact of the spray with the hair results in washing away of the contaminants rather than driving of the latter into the hair.

The upper row of openings in the rear upper spray head and the openings in the two upper side spray heads are arranged to direct their sprays over the back of the users head and neck, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Here,

again, generally tangential contact of the sprays with.

their respective body surface areas will be observed.

It is clear, therefore, that the several spray heads are arranged so that substantially the entire head and facial areas of the user are thoroughly wetted and washed by sprays which strike the areas generally tangentially and have substantially no velocity components toward the areas so that contaminating materials are washed away from rather than driven deeper into these areas.

The upper spray heads 24 will be seen to be located directly below the inwardly projecting lips 20. These lips shield the spray heads against contamination by vertically falling dirt and dust in the atmosphere. Located between each vertically spaced pair of spray heads is a bafile 52 which shields the lower spray heads against contamination by falling contaminants not caught by the lips 29 as well as by liquid dripping from above. In this connection, the undersides of the lips 20 are inclined so that any liquid thereon runs to the walls of the bowl and down along the walls to the bottom of the bowl rather than dripping onto the upper spray heads. Similarly, the baifies 52 are inclined and spaced from the walls of the bowl by means of spacers 53 so that liquid runs off the baffles toward the bowl walls and then drips to the bottom of the bowl without touching the lower spray heads. Also, of course, spacing the baffles from the walls of the bowl in this way prevents liquid from collecting between the baflles and walls as would occur if the lower edges of the bafiles touched the walls.

As may be observed best in FIGS. 2 and 3, the spray heads are also spaced from the walls of the bowl. In this way, the spray heads are kept from being contan1inated by any contaminants in the water which runs down the walls.

The fountain can be supported in any convenient way, such as by a bracket 54 attached to a wall. In the alternative, the wash fountain might be placed on a table or drainboard in a lavatory or other convenient location.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with a head wash fountain, it is evident that certain features of the invention are capable of incorporation in emergency wash facilities for other parts of the body as well.

What is claimed is:

1. An emergency head wash fountain comprising a bowl having side walls and a rear wall defining a washing space which is open at the top and front of the bowl to receive the head of a user, the upper portions of said walls having 1 lips which incline inwardly and upwardly and define the top opening of the bowl, a pair of vertically spaced, horizontally elongated spray heads on each wall below the lip of the respective walls so as to be shielded against contaminants dropping from above, the upper spray heads being arranged to discharge a plurality of sprays into said space to wash the sides, top and back of the users scalp and head and the lower spray heads being arranged to direct a plurality of sprays into said space to wash the users face, and an inclined bafile mounted on each wall between the adjacent vertically spaced pair of spray heads to shield the lower spray heads against contaminants and liquid dropping from above.

2. An emergency head wash fountain comprising a bowl having side walls and a rear wall defining therebetween a washing space which is open at the top and front of the bowl to receive the head of a user, a pair of horizontal, upper and lower spray bars on each wall, the upper spray bars on the side Walls having openings to discharge streams of water into said space in upwardly and inwardly directed arcs for washing the back of the users head and neck, the lower spray bars on the side walls having openings to discharge streams of water into said space in upwardly and inwardly directed arcs for washing the eyes and face of the user, the upper spray bar on the rear wall having a first set of openings to discharge streams of water into said space in upwardly and inwardly directed arcs for washing the back of the users head and neck and a second set of openings to discharge streams of water into said space in downwardly and inwardly directed arcs for washing the top of the users head, the rear lower spray bar having openings to discharge streams of water into said space in inwardly and upwardly directed arcs for washing the users forehead and face, and a pipe system connected to said spray bars for delivering water thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,426,519 Swift Aug. 22, 1922 1,997,249 Dobbs Apr. 9, 1935 2,166,469 Houston July 18, 1939 2,775,774 Logan Jan. 1, 1957 2,793,372 Hohman May 28, 1957 

